the worst result. she's now in with the worst result. she's now in a position in which, in order to cling to herjob, she is repaired to ta ke cling to herjob, she is repaired to take enormous risks with the politics of peace process of northern ireland and that's not a stupid, it's morally reprehensible. thank you very much for your thoughts. thank you. clearly, a huge amount of pressure on theresa may from lots of different directions. the big question is whether she can actually survive as prime minister. as i mentioned, that deal with the dup absolutely crucial to ensuring her survival in the short—term. but, as we've just discussed, survival in the short—term. but, as we'vejust discussed, brings survival in the short—term. but, as we've just discussed, brings with it its own huge set of problems. much more from westminster soon but right now bbc news it's time for click. this week, preparing for the worst in vr.

a bunch of new apples. that is part of what is called soft robotics and this team at bristol robotics lab of bioengineering technologies to do all of that and more. i went to take a look at their laps. this is a bucket of aliens driver. right? this is the same stuff that drips out of the alien mouth. so ridley scott would just use a whole bunch of that. in this case, it's just simulated

blood. the soft robot mimics how some bacteria move to our bodies. in the future is thought that nano robots will take a similar trip through our veins looking for infection and illness. that is awesome. some of the project they are working on here involve making assistive technology for elderly and disabled people, like this pneumatic artificial muscle that can be made into any shape and built into clothing. as you apply hair it changes its shape so it could for insta nce changes its shape so it could for instance help people with limited grip strength. its forces dependent on how much air pressure you apply. you're some material that can sense when that pressure should be applied. this diametric elastomer can detect when it is being stretched so it can sense when you try to move and add extra power to maybe help you up the stairs. and it can not only detect movement, it can also change its shape when you apply

also change its shape when you apply a high enough voltage. you could use it for changeable clothing that contained its colour and you could use it as a sort of second skin to help with deep vein of the roses to assist with pumping blood. it could even be layered up to create stronger artificial muscles. it does not seem like it is doing a lot but actually it is very thin and weighs almost nothing. the active pa rt weighs almost nothing. the active part in the ways for grams and they can lead to kilos. none of this is complicated. none of this is extremely high—tech, using, like, billions of transistors. it's simple voltage and a piece of material. i think that's one of the big advantages of soft robotics. in a combo catered robotic system you have a lot of elements that can go wrong and with these sort of things it is very simple and very adaptable. the intelligent is in the design and the media use rather than the complexity. the robotics lab in bristol is a

50,000 square feet high of innovation filled with hundreds of different types of robots but what nearly all have in common is they need power to run. over in the bioenergy lab, scientists are working on one freely available resource the world will never run out of. each one of the cylinders is a microbial device. it turns waste water territories to using microbes. the microbes eat the waste? they eat the waste. it is their favourite item on the menu. i've been to that restaurant. two litres of ten won is fed into the fuel cell pack of the microbes eat what they need, creating electrons asa what they need, creating electrons as a by—product. can they attach to an electrode surface it is collected to produce about 30—a0 milliwatts of power. that is not too slowly charge a smartphone, power smart displays

oi’ a smartphone, power smart displays or power internal lights for the special portable toilets. this just special portable toilets. thisjust one special portable toilets. this just one unit of many. and we do it out of the lab, when we install these units out of the lab, we have many more of them. they are connected together as a stack. if you're going to glastonbury this year, you might see the screens near the rhinos and if you choose to use them you be part of an experiment which is literally putting the pe into power. these displays don't require a lot of power. but a lucky few may be able to charge their phones for rabbits, but only after donating. most used here comes from staff donors at the lab. it's only good for the microbes for an hour or so so good for the microbes for an hour or so so confident —— constant supplies needed, although i think i'll hang on.

welcome to the week in tech. it was the week that cooper be funded customers for journeys taken the week that cooper be funded customers forjourneys taken near last saturday night's london terror attacks after pricing had automatically surged due to demand, automatically surged due to demand, a functionally disabled later that evening. apple announced it is joining the virtual assistant system. the comment section on britney spears's insta grumman count has been used by russian speaking hackers to test malware. and snap chat specs have gone on sale in the uk. if you think this is a sensible way to go out. anyone with kids can tell you what it is like trying to get plasticine out of their carpet. i don't have a new gadget to tell you about, it is the play clay which has gone high—tech. this can conduct electricity and aims to help kids learn about light, sound and movement through play. researchers

at mit have developed sensors for the grippers of robotic arms that aim to help but grab things with the right amount of pressure. the aim to make general household tasks easier to approach which would be handy if one day robots are to become ordinary household companions. around the world, scientists are looking at different ways of improving our quality of life. here it is alternate sources of power. at soft robotics it is smart materials and bionic limbs. in italy, they're at sensation. we went there to look at sensation. we went there to look at attempts to simulate touch. i'm at the bay of robotics lab where research is trying to merge human physiology with machine engineering. they're working on a bionic and tip

which is capable of detecting texture. the human sense of touch is a complex one. i don't even need to look at these three pieces of plastic to sense the differences in the coarseness of the richest. this presents a huge problem to people designing artificial limbs. how do you transfer that same sensitivity into a pathetic hand? to create a machine capable of sensing and transmitting tactile data we need to understand how bodies decode sensory stimuli. fingertips have the highest concentration of sensation almost anywhere in the human body and 20,000 nerve fibres on each finger. and these tiny receptors. they react to sensory information as we move oui’ to sensory information as we move our fingers across different surfaces. each receptor has a different role, some respond to pain, some to temperature, some to

pressure or vibration. this allows a skin to interact with the environment and allows an object, when manipulated, not to break. the bionic fingertip registers the textures it touches as electrical spikes. on screen it may look simple but that is exactly the language that our nervous system speak is as we touch objects and it serves nerve impulses to the brain. the tiny su btle impulses to the brain. the tiny subtle variations in how the skin forms as we touch changes those impulses and how we perceive texture. this capitalises on the natural principle and so can be more effective as humans and animals can i'iow effective as humans and animals can now interact with the environment. professor and his team have already some success. dennis was the first amputee to try out the bionic fingertips. the output from the

fingertips. the output from the finger was directly connected to nerves finger was directly connected to nerves in his upper arm. i could tell the difference when it was very rough and smooth. yes, that was amazing. and since this first clinical trial couple of years ago, the team been trying to increase the number of textures that patients can deal. the experiments that were showing now are stretching the capability to include silk from cotton, wool from different kinds of materials. and in this way we could restore a more natural sense of touch to the amputee that is wearing the prosthesis. what is learned here can be transferred to other applications. for example, a surgical robot could use this technology trade and by tumours which would feel different

and texture to healthy tissue. another kind of application is for rescue. soto allow robots to be present in the environment, not only to listen but to add more centres available when exploring and environment. think, for example, a nuclear disaster. so in the case of underwater application the robot can go and touch and perceive the environment. once this technology is mastered it can be integrated into simple things like gloves. so for instance, i could be anywhere in the world, my husband back in new york can give me the sensation of petting our cat and that would be transferred through these actuators to me anywhere in these actuators to me anywhere in the world. i want it right now. i can't give you that at the moment that in the

meantime, how about a hug from this chap? that does it for this week. next week we're going to los angeles for the annual eat three video games extravaganza. it is going to be brilliant and we will between ten everything we see. follow us on facebook, too. thanks for watching and we will see you in la. thank you forjoining me. it is one of sunny spells and blustery showers but it is never that straightforward, is it? the fog of the really heavy showers across scotla nd the really heavy showers across scotland and northern ireland, be surprised to hear reports of some thunder and lightning in the

heaviest of their showers. some of those again across—the—board into the pennines. more showers breaking out across the north midlands and into parts of wales and the south—west. the further south and east you are the drier and finally your day will be. the top will be 2223. high uv levels and very high pollen levels across the south. overnight we keep their showers. in the northern part of scotland they'll be there. a lot weather elsewhere, and that cloud will break up. it will push those temperatures to 2122 at best. a few want more detail about the rest of the week it is there for you at the bbc weather website. heated talks are continuing between the conservatives and the democratic unionists to strike a deal to form the next government. this morning, the defence secretary sir michael fallon backed theresa may, but said she would have to start governing with the support of her cabinet, rather than listening to advisors. but criticism of her leadership

style has continued, with former chancellor george osborne calling her a "dead woman walking", following the general election result. here is our political correspondent leila nathoo.